“The Sovereign of the
Seas” Mark 6:45-56
SCRIPTURE INTRO: We are back to the study of Mark.
Last time, feeding of the 5,000. Today another great
miracle.
All of Jesus’
miracles were enacted parables—
intended
to show us who he is, who we are, and his salvation.
Let’s now read the miracle of Jesus walking on the water.
INTRO: In the early 19th
century there was a movement called
“The search for the historical Jesus.”
Idea was that what we have in the
Gospels is mostly legends—
but there is a history behind the legends that
we can uncover.
So when it comes to Jesus’
miracles, we have to read between the lines,
and figure out what really happened that became
the basis for the legends.
What about Jesus walking on the
water?
The common explanation was that he was wading near the shore—
but because of the darkness, optical illusion,
stress disciples under—
it appeared to them that he was walking on the
water.
They came back, told everybody and
we have the walking on water miracle.
About a year ago a professor at FSU
named Doron Nof,
came up with an explanation that is much more
interesting.
He published a paper showing that
2,000 years ago it was occasionally cold enough
in northern
He speculated that Jesus could have
been standing on a big piece of ice—
that was floating out into the middle of the
So now you know what really
happened!
You can make a note in the margin of your Bible:
“Jesus surfing
on ice patch.”
Of course, if you believe that
Jesus was just wading, or standing on ice,
then you no longer have the divine Son of God,
who has come to save us from our sins.
You don’t even have a good teacher.
Because what good teacher would let his disciples believe
and spread the false story that he was walking
on the water when really wasn’t?
The search for the historical Jesus
did not accomplish anything—
didn’t find the real Jesus hidden behind the
legends.
Because the real
historical Jesus is the Jesus of the Gospels.
The Gospels were based on eyewitness accounts, historically reliable.
And we accept by faith that the
miracles were unique events
that demonstrated in many ways that Jesus is
the divine Son of God.
What we need to ask is not how this
miracle happened—but what does it mean?
In the Old Testament, seas, waves,
deep water are always symbolic
of chaos, disorder, rebellion against God, and
the tribulations and trials of life.
You see this in the poetic
books—Job, Psalms, Prophets.
Being swept by waves, engulfed in the deep—forces
beyond our control.
The Old Testament also consistently
presents
God as the Sovereign of the seas, the Lord of the
waves.
In the beginning the Spirit of God
hovers over the waters of the deep.
The great act of redemption is the parting of the
and then using that same sea for judgment
against the Egyptians.
Last week, Easter, read Revelation
21.
The new heavens and new earth, “And there was no longer any sea.”
That may disappoint you if you are
a beach-lover. But it’s symbolic.
It means that in Christ’s eternal kingdom—no chaos, no rebellion.
Everything is brought under Christ’s dominion.
So what is the significance of this
miracle—Jesus’ walking on the water?
Think about it. The waves where dashing the disciples’ boat.
The deep, dark water was beneath them.
And Jesus was walking on the waves,
walking on the deep.
He was putting under his feet all that threatened them.
This miracle is a demonstration of
the sovereignty of Jesus Christ.
There is nothing that comes against you, that threatens you, that
wearies you,
that he does not have absolute mastery over.
This passage shows us three things
about Christ’s sovereignty
1. His plan is right.
2. His knowledge is complete.
3. His timing is perfect.
MP#1 His
plan is right.
“Immediately Jesus made his
disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to
while he dismissed the crowd.”
Immediately after the feeding of
the 5,000 Jesus made disciples get into boat.
Why did Jesus have to make them get into the boat?
Why didn’t they want to leave?
John tells us in his Gospel that
after Jesus fed the 5,000—
they crowd got so excited that they tried to
make him king by force.
This region of
They wanted a political Messiah and Jesus was the man.
Have you ever wondered why the
feeding of the 5,000 only counts the men.
We know there were women and children too—as many as 20,000 people.
Because men were counted when an army was being
numbered.
Here were 5,000 men ready to take
up arms and march for Jesus.
The equivalent of a Roman legion.
No wonder Jesus had to make the
disciples get into the boat.
They were fired up by the response of the crowd.
They still thought the answer to their problems was political and not
spiritual.
But Jesus made them go—he took away
the very thing they wanted most,
and he sent them right into a storm.
A night of wind, waves, cold, frustration—perhaps
some fear.
Does this ring any bells? It should.
A lot like chapter 4.
Jesus said, Let us go over to the other
side. Took right into
a storm.
So here we have the same lesson
emphasized again.
The disciples needed it again and we need it again.
The storms in our lives not only do
not take Jesus by surprise—
he send us into the storms as part of his good,
sovereign plan for us.
And you can see as the story
unfolds what this accomplished.
They start to see a little more clearly who Jesus is.
They start to understand a little more that their salvation
would not be political, but the supernatural
work of Christ.
You can take this and draw a line
directly to your life.
There will be times when Jesus
makes you get into a boat.
He does it in different ways—might be a conviction of your conscience,
might be providential circumstances—he has his
ways.
And then he sends you right into a
storm.
You don’t get what you expected.
You get trouble.
Later you look back and realize that his plan was right all along.
A while back I read an article by a
minister who was in a great church.
He had been there many years, ministry was comfortable, fruitful.
He got a call from another church.
After looking at it, became convinced this was where God wanted him.
This was a step in the right direction for his gifts and stage of his
life.
So his family moved—and the first
week he was there, discovered a major division
that was threatening to tear the church apart.
He went to the pulpit committee and
said: You lied!
I specifically asked you about this and you told me nothing.
They said: Well, if we had told you we know you wouldn’t
have come.
He said: You’re right!
And he grieved his old church. He was angry.
Didn’t want to face the waves.
And they came. First
week a brutal congregational meeting.
Yet, he was writing this from the
perspective of years—
was able to say, the Lord’s plan was right for
me.
My confidence in myself was weakened.
Faith in Christ strengthened.
That’s a preacher story that
probably means more to me than it does to you.
But the same truth applies to your calling as well—
decisions in business, practice, classroom,
home.
Storms don’t catch Jesus off
guard.
He sends you into them as he works out his good plan.
Frees you from
second guessing yourself.
Frees you from
getting mad at the Lord.
He knows when he’s sending you into a storm.
He’s the sovereign of the seas.
MP#2 His
knowledge is complete.
The disciples were in the middle of
the
Jesus was on the mountainside looking down on the lake.
“He saw the disciples straining at
the oars, because the wind was against them.”
Some of the commentaries ask: How could Jesus see?
They were several miles away, it was dark.
Was it a moonlit night? Did they
have a lantern on the boat?
Those questions miss the
point. This was clearly supernatural
vision.
He could see much more than just their little speck of a boat out there.
He could see them.
He knew their frustrations and fears.
This should have been an easy trip
across the lake—but it had taken hours.
They were frustrated. They were
tired. Perhaps they were afraid.
Have you ever felt that way? Maybe you feel that way right now.
There is some trial or temptation that you have been struggling with
for a long time. You think it should be over by now, but it’s
not.
Maybe it’s a long-term financial
trial.
Or a struggle with bitterness against person or
circumstances.
Or the trial of being single or the trial of being
married.
Or depression or discouragement or discontent.
But every day you get up and put
your oars in the water and row and row—
but it seems that the wind is against you.
Don’t make headway.
And maybe you wonder if there is anyone who understands
what you are going through.
Jesus is on the mountainside—and he
sees you. He knows you.
He sent you into the storm—the
storm didn’t take him by surprise.
And he knows what he is going to accomplish in you through this storm.
He knows your condition.
He knows your weaknesses.
He’s not going to let you suffer or
be tempted beyond what you can bear.
His design is to make you better—and he knows what he is doing.
And we are told that Jesus was on
the mountainside praying.
If his prayers in John are any model—we know he was praying for the
disciples.
He saw them,
he knew everything they were going through—inside and out.
And he was praying for them.
He was not praying that they would
make it safely to the other side.
He was praying that his purposes in them would be accomplished.
That through this trial, their faith in him would grow a little bit
more.
So here we have something amazing.
There can be no night so dark, no
storm so severe—
that Jesus does not see every detail of your
circumstances.
He knows the deepest pangs and
disturbances of your mind and heart.
And he’s for you—he’s not against you.
He continually makes interceding for you—
as Paul says in Romans 8.
If you are going through a hard
time, discouraged—
need to take a 3X5 card and you need to write
these words:
“He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was
against them.”
Underline the words, “He saw.”
Put on dashboard or desk at work and read it often.
Jesus sees you and knows everything you are going through.
He knows your strain, he knows the
wind—
He is watching and praying. He is
for you and not against you.
I have an old seminary buddy named
Tom Stein, in
We don’t talk often—5 or 6 times a year.
But whenever we do talk, I’m
encouraged, because Tom knows me.
We were in seminary together, so we have a history.
We are both in the same work.
He knows the challenges because he has them too.
And he’s for me. Maybe you have a friend like that.
Well, Jesus knows you better than
you know yourself.
He knows how we are formed, remembers that we are dust.
He knows the end from the beginning.
That assurance of his complete,
sovereign knowledge of you
ought to give you confidence to keep rowing—
not lose heart, because in his time, he will
bring you relief.
That’s what we see now.
MP#3 His
timing is perfect.
“About the fourth watch of the
night he went out to them, walking on the lake.”
The fourth watch of the night is from
All through the darkest hours they
had strained with the wind against them.
All that time Jesus saw them, and prayed for them.
And then, in his perfect timing, he went to them.
Then there is a curious detail.
“He was about to pass them by, but when they saw him walking on the
lake,
they thought he was a ghost. They cried out . . .”
Jesus responded to their cry of
fear by saying:
“Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
And then getting into the boat with them, and calming the waves.
But why does it say that he was
about to pass them by?
Did he change his mind? Was he
toying with them?
The key is in the phrase: “Pass by.”
Does that remind you of anything in the Old Testament?
There are two places where the Lord is said to “pass by” someone.
First is in Exodus. Moses was facing one of the great crises of
his leadership.
Israelites had made the golden calf, come under God’s judgment.
Moses says to God, You’ve told me to lead this people.
I can’t unless I know that you are with me. This is too hard. This is too big.
God said to Moses. Hide in this cleft in the mountain—
And I will cause all of my goodness to pass by you, and I will
proclaim my name.
Then God repeats, this time he says that his glory will pass by
Moses.
That’s exactly what happens.
That assurance of God’s presence, goodness, and glory gives Moses
the strength to pick up this huge task of
leading the people.
Second place is in 1 Kings. Prophet Elijah in the great
crisis of his life.
After victory over the prophets of Baal. Life threatened by Queen Jezebel.
He fled into the desert. Became
so depressed wanted to die.
God said,
come stand on the mountain and I will pass by.
There is the wind, earthquake, fire—and the still, small, voice.
Elijah was so encouraged, went down and finished his ministry in power.
Here’s the point: Mark is filled with OT imagery.
When it says that Jesus was about to pass them by—
Jesus was displaying his divinity—goodness and glory.
Making himself known to them as God
did to Moses and Elijah—
at the lowest points of their lives.
So that they
would know that the Lord God almighty reigns.
That he is sovereign over their lives and the storms.
Does Jesus still do this today?
Does he still come to Christians during the fourth watch, when about to
give up?
Does he pass by and show his divine glory and goodness?
Yes he does. Not in dreams or visions.
He comes at just the right time through the Word.
One example: Charles Simeon, great English preacher.
Young man appointed by bishop to a church in
People hated him. Totally unreceptive to his ministry.
So unpopular often insulted in streets.
Preaching interrupted by hecklers.
One day, frustrated to the point of
giving up. Rowing
against a stiff wind.
Opened his New Testament and read the first verse he saw:
“They found a man
of
This is what Charles Simeon wrote in his diary.
“Simon is the same
name as Simeon. What a word of
instruction was here—what a blessed hint for my encouragement! To have the Cross laid upon me, that I might
bear it after Jesus—what a privilege! It
was enough. Now I could leap and sing
for joy as one whom Jesus was honouring with a
participation in his sufferings… I henceforth bound persecution as a wreath of
glory round my brow.”
Jesus came at just the right time, walking on the waves to
Charles Simeon—
gave
him an assurance through the Word, that was just for him.
At just the right time, Jesus will come to you, walking on
the waves.
He will make his
presence and goodness known to you in a fresh way.
You will be assured
that you are not alone. Suffering not in vain.
This means that your eyes of faith have to be open.
You have to be
willing to see. Have to be open to see
Jesus in the word.
Have to believe
that the Lord comes to us through the word.
If you believe that, he will come to you just when you need
him most.
CONC:
Fierce was the wild billow, Dark was the night;
Oars labored heavily, Foam glittered white;
Trembled the mariners, Peril was nigh:
The said the Son of God, “Peace! It is I.”
Jesus, Deliverer, Come thou to me;
Soothe thou my voyaging Over life’s
sea.
Thou, when the storm of death Roars, sweeping by,
Whisper, O Son of God, “Peace! It is I.”
Our Lord Jesus is the sovereign of the seas.
Remember that as
you strain your oars against the wind this week.
Remember that his
plan for your life is right.
His knowledge of
you is complete,
And his timing is
perfect.